An Ao Dai festival, the fifth of its kind, will take place in multiple locations across Ho Chi Minh City from March 3 to 25.

At a press conference to announce the event on February 28, Director of the municipal Tourism Department Bui Ta Hoang Vu, also head of the annual festival’s organising board, said it reflects the city’s wish to preserve and promote the values of the traditional dress, and to honour people who have been engaging in the preservation.

The organising board said the festival gathers 22 top designers and introduces more than 1,200 designs to the public.

Aiming to attract 80,000 visitors, it features 16 main activities, including an opening ceremony, which will stage 13 collections on the Nguyen Hue pedestrian street on March 3, and a mass performance of 3,000 people wearing ao dai on March 4.

As part of the festival, a forum on the charm of ao dai is scheduled for March 8 to help international friends understand the culture and history behind the dress. Talk shows inspiring youths on the dress will take place at several schools in the city.

Spaces for local tourism promotion on Nguyen Hue Street, an ao dai exhibition and a conference on the history of ao dai are among other features of the event.

On the occasion, the municipal tourism department will launch a campaign encouraging public servants, workers and students to wear ao dai.